During a 30-year career as a member of British Airways’ cabin crew, Tess De Mello took pride in a job well done, saying she regularly went above and beyond to make passengers more comfortable. To her, the role was more than just employment – it was part of her identity. The airline issued almost all of its 42,000 staff with redundancy notices, with 10,000 ultimately losing their jobs.
At the time, the Unite union representing cabin crew told the parliamentary transport select committee BA had taken a fire-and-rehire approach, with staff who remained having to accept pay cuts and demotions. MPs called it a “national disgrace”. De Mello has spent the years since locked in legal battles with BA.
It has not only been a courtroom drama but a personal ordeal. There was a great amount of shame attached to her dismissal, she has said, leaving her fearing what those colleagues who had looked up to her would think upon learning she had been among those not kept on by BA. Would they think I’ve done something wrong?
I was always on top of things,” she said. Unite later said salaries dropped by between 15% and 35%. When De Mello asked for clarification of her exact salary upon being rehired and some time to consider, making sure to say explicitly she wanted to stay with the airline, she was told she would now be treated as if she had decided to leave, according to court documents for an unfair dismissal claim she later made against BA.
Judge Laurie Anstis found against her and a former colleague at an employment tribunal in Reading last year. They are appealing the ruling. They are also claiming they were underpaid their holiday entitlement while they were part-time workers for BA.
If successful, the case could have ramifications across the aviation sector. Because of the nature of the job, for those on part-time contracts working shorter days is not realistic. This meant working a block of full days on, followed by a block of days off.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
